June 5: Kingston, ON: Great Gifts Come in Small Packages

The Portraits of Honour National Tour pulled into Kingston to find a sunny morning and even warmer reception. A handful of volunteers made light work of set-up, our staging location, right near a main street and the K Rock centre was poised for record numbers of visitors and the crew was even greeted with fresh fruit and coffee – We were set to have a “perfect” day!

At first the team was surprised to see that these record crowds did not materialize, (in part due to several other community events occurring simultaneously) but it soon became clear that quality truly does trump quantity.  

Those that did come to visit were full of incredible stories about the fallen, were deeply thankful for the efforts of Portraits of Honour in keeping the memory of their friends or loved ones alive, and were profoundly moved by what they saw. Others gave generously both in word and in donation to the project, including the Kingston Kinsmen Club who exceeded any expectation with their donation. The Dawe family, including the mother and father, wife and son and even two teachers of fallen hero Captain Matthew Dawe, shared their memories of Matthew, and truly inspired the crew and other visitors. 

Despite the fact that POH didn’t receive as many visitors as expected, when asked how they felt about the day, the crew unanimously agreed, “ It couldn’t have been better.”

Artist Dave, Chris and Ed share some of their thoughts and we were blessed to have a visit from the Dawe family.